


Summer Love

by someonethatsfunny



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Childhood Friends, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Marriage Proposal, No Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-16
Updated: 2019-11-16
Packaged: 2021-02-07 09:49:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21456067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/someonethatsfunny/pseuds/someonethatsfunny
Summary: Summers at his lake house are Harry's favorite time of the year. They're treasured moments in time spent with Louis, his favorite person. The boy with the bluest eyes, the brightest smile and loudest laugh. Harry's best friend for all of his summers. He's gonna marry him someday. All that Louis needs to do is ask him - again.Prompt 5: Get "married" as kids on the playground (stay friends-friends to lovers pining etc on one side - stay "married" in their head on the other - decide to make it official, blowing one another's mind - extreme fluff)Prompt 56: Louis proposes to Harry while he's sleeping because he thinks he's just so beautiful but Harry isn't actually asleep. Only problem is they're just best mates and not in a relationshipI combined these two prompts and while I may not have stayed completely on task, I can assure you that the 'extreme fluff' has been covered.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 39
Kudos: 261
Collections: 28 Proposals Fic Fest





	Summer Love

_ ~Summer 2009~ _

The air conditioner is broken again. 

Which is not the least bit surprising, really. It’s broken more often than it works. 

What  _ is  _ surprising is the fact that Louis is lying next to him when he could easily be next door enjoying the crisp cool dependable air of his own home. 

But no. He’s lying right beside Harry just as he’s done countless nights before. Harry loves that he’s there, don’t get him wrong. It’s just that lately he’s started to feel differently around Louis. _ _

His body has even betrayed him because of it. More than once.

It scares the shit out of him, these changes he’s been experiencing. Even though he’s suspected his truth for a while now, he’s not willing to risk his most important friendship for befuddled teenage feelings. 

They started having sleepovers back when Louis’ family bought the summer house next door to them. They were seven years old and Louis had a new baby sister who cried and kept him up at night. Additional siblings followed, but the crying at night stopped being an excuse a long time ago. 

Now it’s just the way things are. They’re LouisandHarry. Inseparable. 

Best of friends. 

Louis is tossing and turning as if he can’t get comfortable. Which, of course he can’t. It’s an actual sweatbox in here despite the ceiling fan being switched to high. 

Summer nights at the lake house usually are. Well, summer nights at  _ Harry’s  _ lake house usually are. 

“It’s more authentic this way,” his mother protests each time the unit decides to quit on them. 

Click. Click. Click. The fan spins above their heads, doing it’s best, but nowhere near enough. Harry’s skin feels tacky, his shirt clinging to his body uncomfortably. He imagines himself standing underneath a cold shower and mourns the fact that it’s not real. For a second he considers getting up and making a run for the lake, but he knows it’s not possible. Louis thinks that he’s asleep and he intends to keep it that way. 

It’s better this way Harry reminds himself. Looking Louis straight in the eye has been proving more challenging as the summer days tick by. It’s just. They’re so blue. It’s a lot. 

Too much, in fact. So Harry keeps his eyes squeezed shut. That way he doesn’t have to face their piercing gaze. 

The room is too hot. Unbearable really. More tonight than usual Harry thinks. He loves his mom to bits, but he would trade her beloved authentic lake house aesthetic for a shack with reliable air conditioning without a second thought. 

Harry inches backwards slowly until his back is flush against the wall, attempting to create some space between them and also to soak in the coolness of the plaster wall through his thin t-shirt. 

The mattress creaks and dips as Louis flips over again, huffing loudly. Hot. Frustrated. Harry can relate. 

When he hears the unmistakable sound of Louis peeling his shirt off and tossing it to the ground, Harry squeezes his eyes shut even tighter.

Louis can’t know that Harry’s still awake right now. Because then he might notice certain things that have popped up. Inconvenient things. 

“Are you awake, Haz?” Louis whispers loudly. 

Harry focuses intently on his breathing by counting silently in his head, remaining perfectly still and quiet as he does so.  _ One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi— _

“Harry.”

“Harry.”

“Hazza.”

Louis sighs deeply and the mattress moves with him as he flips over another time. Harry can feel Louis’ breath fanning across his face despite the distance he managed to put between them. 

_ Four Mississippi, five Mississippi.  _ Surely he’ll fall asleep soon.  _ Six Mississippi.  _

A gentle finger brushes across his cheek, tucking a loose curl behind his ear and then it’s gone. And Harry exhales slowly through his nose. 

“You know what Haz? I’ve been thinking,” Louis whispers again, albeit a bit more quietly this time. 

Harry almost answers him. It’s easy to forget that he’s supposed to be asleep. But thankfully, he remembers just in time. 

_ Seven Mississippi.  _

“We should get married.” 

It’s hardly a whisper. The words float out into the sticky hot night amidst the background noise of crickets chirping. Robin’s deep belly laughs echo down the hallway from where he’s probably watching  _ Friends _ reruns with his mum. 

Harry stops counting as his breath catches in his throat. A bead of sweat trickles painfully slow down his back settling into the curve of his spine. He wants to scratch the spot where it lands, but he doesn’t dare move. 

He’s not breathing at all. Time appears to be standing still even though Harry knows that it isn’t. 

“You should marry me.” Louis whispers a little bit louder this time, sounding more confident. “None of the girls back home understand me. I don’t know how to explain it. But you  _ get  _ me Harry. You laugh at all of my jokes, even the ones that aren’t that funny. You laugh and somehow you make  _ me _ laugh even though you tell stupid jokes about cows. I’m sorry if that’s harsh, but it’s the truth.”

Harry forces himself to exhale slowly through his nose again as his heart jack rabbits in his chest, his eyes still pinched shut.

“Jokes aside though? I like everything about you. I like your slow, careful words, how you think before you speak. I love playing games with you. You never win, but you never get angry about it. It’s always so much fun. I like how easy it is to just  _ be _ with you. I find myself always wanting to be closer to you. Even now. When it’s one hundred degrees outside and I’m here. Laying in your stupid small bed and wondering how the hell you fell asleep in this heat.”

Louis pauses and Harry wonders if he’s finished, but he doesn’t stay quiet for long. 

“I like your curls, too.” Harry feels gentle fingers lightly patting the tips of his hair and for the second time, he holds his breath. “And your dumb dimples. And your eyes. They’re so pretty—” 

“I like you so much, Harry. I know we’re only fifteen, but it doesn’t matter. Not really. We should get married someday. I’d be a really good husband, I promise. I’d always share my fries with you, unlike Niall. Greedy bastard.”

Harry bites his lip to keep from laughing and tastes blood. It reminds him that this is real and he isn’t actually dreaming.

“You can have the remote fifty percent of the time and maybe I’d even let you win a game or two. Of scrabble. Because let’s be real, you can’t beat me at anything else. But mostly we would have fun just  _ being  _ together.”

Things get really quiet after that, the two of them breathing in and out and the crickets the only sounds filling the tiny room. Even Robin must have gone to bed. For a second, Harry wonders if Louis drifted off as well, but then he whispers again. 

This time his voice is much softer and he sounds more timid. Harry strains to hear him, determined not to miss a single syllable even though he can’t respond.

He has no idea how he would if it were possible. 

“I’ll tell you all this one day when you’re awake. How I think that I might like boys instead of girls. How I must. Because no girl has ever been as pretty as you. I’m not ready yet, but one day I will be. I hope that you won’t hate me when I do. Maybe you’ll even like me back a little.”

Louis stops speaking for good then, presumably drifting off into a peaceful slumber, leaving Harry to lay there alone with his chaotic thoughts, his mind stuck perpetually on eight Mississippi. Refusing to move from the spot where he’s crushed uncomfortably against the wall. 

Even though he wants nothing more than to reach out and touch. He won’t let himself. 

Louis’ not ready. That’s what he said. 

Well, Harry can be patient. He can and he will. Because when Louis is ready, he already knows his answer. 

It’s yes. It’s always been yes. And one day when Louis is ready, Harry will make sure that he knows that he can do so much better than ‘like him back just a little’. 

The truth is, he’s already halfway in love with the boy. One day Harry will share his secrets too. 

Instead of counting, Harry allows his mind wander to various versions of future LouisandHarrys. They’re going to be amazing one day. He’s never been more sure of anything. 

_ ~End Of Summer 2010~ _

“You should be my boyfriend.”

Harry hears the words, so achingly familiar yet different just the same. He allows them to marinate as he blinks slowly, a wide smile spreading across his lips.

It’s taken them forever to get here. Over a year, to be exact, but when you’re sixteen-years-old and you’ve been pining for your best friend for as long as Harry has, more than a year seems pretty much like a lifetime.

The two of them are lying upside-down on Louis’ bed with their feet propped up against the wall and their heads dangling backwards off the edge as they soak in the cool air blowing on them from a nearby vent. 

Harry’s air conditioner is broken again because of course it is. It wouldn’t be summer at the lake if it wasn’t. 

Not ready to give up this sweet reprieve from the ungodly heat, Harry turns his head to the side and finds Louis already facing him, looking at him expectantly. Anxiously? 

Did he actually think Harry capable of saying no? What lunacy. Sheer madness. 

“Okay.” Harry easily agrees. His smile spreads even wider when Louis’ eyes push up into happy crescents. It’s Harry’s favorite smile, without question. And the fact that he’s responsible for putting it there this time? Just for saying yes?

Harry feels like he could do anything. Hell, he could probably fly if he tried.

“Yea?” Louis asks him, double checking, just to be sure.

“Yea.”

Harry’s cheeks hurt from smiling so hard. It feels momentous, like they should celebrate, but there are too many curious little ears lurking about, so they continue to lay there smiling stupidly at one another instead. 

“Do you remember our first date?” Louis asks him as if there’s the slightest possibility that Harry could have forgotten. It had only been a short two months ago. 

“Of course I do, Lou.” He giggles happily. And Louis giggles too. God, they’re disgusting. It’s obvious even to him, but he wouldn’t change a thing about them. Including the road they’d taken to finally get here.

_ ~One Week Before Summer 2010~ _

The start of summer unfolded exactly as Harry had dreamt about countless times throughout the past year. He’d just never allowed himself to believe that it would actually happen. _ _

But oh how he’d hoped. 

Especially after the bombshell Louis dropped on him via text a week before they got to the lake. It started with a simple  _ I kissed a boy. _

That message had sent Harry into a chaotic frenzy until the subsequent messages that followed. 

**Louis: ** I don’t like him though. Don’t worry.

Why would Harry worry? I mean, yes, of course he was worried. Hearing about another boy made him feel positively wretched, but Louis had no way of knowing that.

**Louis: ** But I do think I like boys.

_ Oh. Ohhhhh. This is it,  _ Harry thought. Time and time again he had envisioned how and when Louis might tell him. Not once had he imagined this conversation over text message. And not once did he think he would have to hear about him kissing another boy. His stomach still hurt a little. Even if the kiss meant nothing.

**Louis: ** I just thought I should tell you before summer. In case it changes anything. 

**Louis: ** I hope it doesn’t though.

**Louis: ** Change anything, I mean. 

**Louis: ** Between you and me.

How could Louis possibly think it would change anything between them? I mean, Harry hoped that it  _ would _ change things. But only for the positive, not negatively like Louis was implying.

**Harry:** Of course it doesn’t change anything.

Harry stared at the string of messages for an unholy amount of time before typing again.

**Harry:** I don’t think who a person kisses should define them.

**Louis: ** Thanks, Haz. 

**Louis: ** That means a lot.

**Harry:** Well, I meant it.

**Harry:** Obviously, but, also

Harry inhaled deeply, pausing a moment before typing out his own confession. If Louis could be brave then so could he.

**Harry:** Pretty sure I do as well

**Harry:** Like boys

**Harry:** So

**Louis: ** So

**Louis: ** Guess we have a lot to catch up on next week?

**Harry:** Yea

And that was that. Harry had no more answers about the two of them than he’d had thirty minutes prior, but it still felt as if they’d taken a giant step forward.

Having a best friend that you only see during the summer months was hard sometimes. Of course they kept in touch regularly via text and sometimes phone calls but it wasn’t the same. They missed days and even weeks sometimes during Louis’ busy soccer season and during those times Harry’s heart ached. 

Missing Louis sometimes felt like he was missing a part of himself. 

And sometimes, like right now, for instance, Harry really wished that they were face to face so that he could see into Louis’ eyes. So he could understand more than these text messages were telling him. 

It was only a week before summer began, though. He could be patient. He’d waited this long already. 

The week passed by tortuously slow with Harry mentally crossing each day off in his calendar. 

Louis had finally told him the first part of his secret. Harry wondered if and when he might tell him the rest. What if he’d changed his mind about him, though? Maybe he didn’t feel the same way anymore. The clock in his family’s kitchen ticked loudly, sounding like a countdown to detonation and his stress magnified with each swoop of the hand. 

Harry bit his nails until they were stubs and tugged his hair so hard that a few strands came out. And in the end, the worrying was all for nothing. 

_ ~First Day of Summer 2010~ _

“So?” Five minutes after his mom had parked their car in the driveway, Louis was stood before him smiling. With his arms folded across his chest and his stance wide he oozed a certain confidence that Harry could only aspire to someday. 

“So?” Harry smiled back, before biting his lips again waiting for the words that might follow. 

“Boys, huh?”

“Yea.” Harry kicked at the small pebbled driveway sending a few scattering. Louis was staring at him, eyes steady and so,  _ so _ blue.

“Are you seeing anyone?”

“No. Why? Are you? What about that boy you kissed?”

“Pfft. I told you I didn’t like him. He was a sloppy kisser. Plus he tasted like cheese.”

“Oh,” Harry huffed, a trace of jealousy lingering regardless. 

“So I was thinking. We should go on a date.” Louis announced, with his chest puffed out, appearing brave.

There were tells, though. He tugged the bottom of his t-shirt discreetly and then swept his hair to the side as he waited for Harry to respond. 

“Yea?”

“Yea.”

“Where would we go?” Harry tilted his head to the side, teasing him. It felt amazing to tease Louis after spending the better part of his week distressed over this exact moment. 

Louis smiled silly at him crossing his eyes and the two of them laughed out loud as they declared, “Paul’s Pizza Shack” at the same time. 

So that’s what they did. The first night that summer, they walked down the path to Paul’s Pizza shack together, their arms brushing lightly against one another, sparks of electricity shooting up Harry’s arms each time. It made him blush furiously and he wondered if Louis was feeling anything close to the same. 

Just before they walked inside, Louis quietly linked their pinkies together and peered over at Harry through the corner of his eye. Harry took note of his pink tinted cheeks.

“Okay?” Louis asked. Harry nodded and the two of them pushed through the wooden screen door together. 

“Happy summer, bitches!” Niall shouted at them through the open kitchen window. “Be right there.” 

Two minutes later, Niall was rounding the corner and pulling them both into tight hugs. A few seconds later Niall’s eyes widened as he took note of their linked fingers. And twenty minutes after that he dropped a pepperoni pie at their table with the pepperonis carefully arranged in the shape of a giant heart. 

It was acceptance. And it felt incredible. 

The date was one for the books. But not for any special reason. Sure, there was a heart shaped pepperoni pie. But mostly they’d just been themselves, blowing straw wrappers at one another from across the table, sharing terrible jokes and laughing until tears ran down both of their cheeks. 

Basically they’d been LouisandHarry just like they’d always been. Only this time when they walked home from Paul’s, they linked all of their fingers together. And this time Louis stopped them in the path when they were halfway home and asked to kiss him. And even though it was far from his first kiss, fireworks exploded behind Harry’s eyelids. 

When they pulled apart, Louis’ cheeks were once again a delightful shade of pink and his eyes curved up into Harry’s favorite smile. He made no mention of Harry tasting like cheese even though they’d just polished off a large pie together. 

Harry felt it in his heart. What he’d always suspected about them was well on its way to becoming reality. The two of them were going to be great together. He just knew it.

_ ~End Of Summer 2010~ _

“Me too. I remember that day and every day this summer,” Louis tells him happily.

Flashes of the most magical summer run through Harry’s mind. Lazy times spent in the middle of the lake in a leaky rowboat. Jumping off the dock together holding hands. Louis applying aloe vera to Harry’s skin after getting sunburnt. Harry returning the favor even though Louis was hardly burnt, he just wanted an excuse to touch him. Their first kiss. Every single kiss that followed. 

Suddenly Harry’s throat feels thick. They only have a few days left before the end of summer and Harry isn’t ready for it to end.

It’s a terrible thing to consider, the two of them being apart for months at a time. Past years were hard, but this year is going to be the most difficult by far. 

“Hey.” Louis reaches over and pushes Harry’s lips back up into a smile. “We’re going to be good, yea?”

“Yea, I know. Just. Gonna miss you so much, Lou.”

“Same Curly. Guess it’s a good thing we’re both getting our driver’s license this month. Won’t have to go so long without seeing one another this year.”

“That’s true.” A small smile pulls at the corners of his mouth again. Small, but real. “And there’s always FaceTime, right?”

“FaceTime, text, calls, road trips. I’m going to be the best long distance boyfriend you ever had, Harold.”

“You’re the only long distance boyfriend I ever had.” Harry giggles. 

“And I intend to keep it that way.” Louis pokes a finger into Harry’s dimple. 

And just like that Harry feels like he can breathe again. They’re going to be okay. He’s never been more sure of anything. 

  
  


_ ~End Of Summer 2011~ _

“We should go to school together. Apply at the same universities.”

It’s a big step, that. But there’s not even a moment’s hesitation on Harry’s part. He sets down his beer which they stole from Robin’s secret stash and turns to look at Louis. 

The moon is shining down upon his golden skin as they sit atop Harry’s beat up Volvo, looking up at the stars. His mom helped him buy it so naturally the ac is busted, because of course it is. 

Harry loves his car anyway. She carried him to Louis throughout the school year so as far as Harry’s concerned, Olivia deserves all his love. 

Yea, he named her. So what. 

“Alright.” Harry’s voice is steady and he doesn’t break eye contact as he seals their future together a little tighter. 

“Yea? Really? You want to?” Louis’ excitement is palpable. He’s like a child on Christmas morning. And all Harry’s agreed to is to live closer in proximity to him year round. 

Sometimes it’s overwhelming, the two of them. Too much, really. The way they’re drawn to one another like twin stars. How they always long to be next to one another. Even if it’s for nothing more than a few stolen moments spent underneath a diamond sky. 

It’s no different, really, than it’s been since they were seven years old camping out in their backyards, staring up at the same sky. Well,  _ some  _ things have changed, but mostly they remain the same. 

They’re LouisandHarry. 

Best of friends. 

“Really. I want to, Lou. It will be a new adventure. And I want that. With you.”

Louis curls a hand behind Harry’s neck and brings their lips together and Harry sighs happily into his mouth.

He’s never been more sure of anything. 

  
  


_ ~Late Winter 2013~ _

“We should move off campus Sophomore year. Get a place together.” 

The two of them are squeezed into Harry’s single dorm bed with their legs tangled together. At least three blankets are wrapped around them and Harry’s much too warm to be truly comfortable. But Louis hates being cold and Harry hates dealing with Louis when  _ he‘s _ uncomfortable, so.

No one likes a grumpy Louis even if he is cute. So he keeps a window cracked for himself and endures the heat that their bodies create. It’s not really a hardship if he’s being honest. Not when he gets to have this incredible boy in his bed.

“Okay.” Harry noses along Louis’ neck, pressing soft kisses into his jaw line.

This past year has seemed like a dream. Any worries that Harry had about the two of them existing in the same space for an extended period of time were proven completely pointless almost instantly. They’d fallen into student life seamlessly, building a fast group of mutual friends and quickly figured out how to balance their relationship with the college experience.

Harry is in business classes while Louis is studying to become a teacher so their schedules don’t quite line up and it’s not always easy, but they make it work.

“Yea?” Louis’ breath hitches.

“Yea.” Harry smiles into his skin. He can feel Louis’ heart picking up speed along with his own.

“We can ask Niall and Ed too if you want? Would be able to get a bigger space probably?”

“I don’t mind either way. Can we get a double bed, though?”

“That’s scandalous, Harold. Never said we’d be sharing a room, did I? Get your mind out of the gutter.”

“Okay,” Harry answers, grinding his hips into Louis’ and biting behind his ear.

“Fuck. Yes, baby. We can get a double. A king size even. I’ll buy you whatever bed you want. Fuck. Do that again.”

So Harry does. And the two of them don’t leave his bed that day. Too busy anticipating the following year when their lives will become even more tightly knit together. Harry can’t wait.

  
  


_ ~Fall 2016~ _

“We should get a dog.” Louis tells him, as he brushes a stray piece of hair from Harry’s forehead. His smile is soft and pleading. Louis has been asking for a dog for a while now, but Harry’s not so sure. A dog is a big responsibility. 

They both graduated a few months back and have been getting settled into their new lives as proper working adults. Still very much in love. And now living in their very own flat, having moved out from the flat they shared with Ed and Niall for the last few years. The pipes make funny noises when the heat kicks on and the floorboards creak under their footsteps, but it’s their very own place so they love it regardless. 

“We can’t get a dog. We’re not home enough,” Harry protests. He wants to say yes, he really does, but it’s not practical. “But maybe we could get a kitten?” He offers what he considers a perfectly reasonable alternative. 

Louis scowls, scooching backward a little. “No. Cats are mean. Plus they would make the apartment smell funny.”

“Only if we don’t clean the litter box, which we obviously would. And they’re not mean,” Harry argues. Louis is being unreasonable.

“They are. They’re mean! Stan’s cat scratched him in the face, remember? Dogs are so much cuter. Less aggressive. More cuddly.”

“Stan deserved it. He was teasing her. And anyway the scratch was hardly visible. You’re just being dramatic. Poppy is a sweetheart. Anyway, who would walk our dog for us while we’re at work?”

“We’d hire a dog walker. There’s signs all over this neighborhood. It wouldn’t be hard,” Louis pleads his case harder. 

“I don’t know Lou. I just don’t think it’s a good idea.” 

“What if I—” Louis leans over to whisper in his ear. “What if I just—“ a hand sneaks inside Harry’s pants.

“That’s not—“ Harry’s words still upon his lips as he’s suddenly flipped onto his back, staring helplessly into deep seas of blue. 

They don’t talk about cats or dogs anymore that night. 

_ ~A Week Later~ _

“Look at him. Look how precious he is. His name is Cliff and he’s an Australian labradoodle. You know how we both always said we wanted to visit Australia someday.”

“He was bread an hour from here, Lou. That’s hardly the same thing as visiting Australia.” The dog on Louis’ screen is ridiculously cute, but Harry’s not giving in. He’s not. 

“Shhh. Just look at him, babe. Look at his face.” Louis sticks his bottom lip out and it’s not fair. It’s really not fair the things this man convinces him to do. Harry loves him endlessly. 

“Fine. We can go meet him.”

“Yay! Thank you Haz!”

“I’m not saying yes, Lou. I only said we’d meet him. That doesn’t mean we’re getting a dog.” But Harry’s words fall upon deaf ears because Louis is already running to get his jacket. Harry sighs as he heads to their closet to grab his favorite boots. 

_ ~One Day Later~ _

“He’s fluffier than Poppy.” Louis is smiling down at Cliff who’s resting happily in Harry’s lap. And Harry is smiling helplessly at this man. At this man he would do anything for. Including adopting a dog as it would seem.

“And he’s curly, just like my other favorite boy.” When he looks up and smiles at Harry with stars in his eyes, Harry feels so much. It feels as if his heart might break free from his chest. 

He’s ready. It’s too soon. And it’s a bit crazy, but Harry doesn’t care. He already knows that he would give Louis the entire world. And now he’s ready to give him all of his truths. Even this one that he’s been holding onto since forever. 

“Harry?” Louis asks him, breaking him of his reverie. He must have been staring for too long. 

“You know what, Lou?” Harry answers him with a question instead. 

“What?”

“I’ve been thinking.”

“Yea?”

“We should get married.”

Cliff picks that moment to start squirming, but Louis who’s hardly ever still sits frozen, staring at Harry with wide eyes, unblinking. 

“You should marry me. Nobody else has ever truly understood me the way that you have. You’re the only one that laughs at my cow jokes which, by the way, I’ll have you know  _ are _ funny.”

It’s clear when it hits Louis because his eyes fill up with tears. Still, he giggles a little as he reaches out for Harry’s hands, both of them shaking a little as he twines their fingers together. 

“I love everything about you, Louis. I love your quick wit, how smart you are. How even though you probably could win every fight, you don’t. You allow me to have a voice and give me space to be my own person. I love how fun you are. How easy it is to just  _ be _ with you even if we’re not doing anything special. I want you to be the one by my side always.”

“Haz.” Louis whispers as a tear escapes. 

“I’ve loved you for so long, Lou. I was half in love with you before you confessed that night and I’ve loved you ever since. Probably since forever if I’m honest. I remember being thirteen years old and thinking that you were the most beautiful person I’d ever seen. I wasn’t sure what it meant back then, but to this day, you still take my breath away.”

“I love you too. So much.”

“I know we’re young, but who cares. You should marry me anyway. I’ll be a really good husband, the best. I promise to always share my fries with you, and you can have the remote fifty-one percent of the time. Oh and I’ll keep letting  _ you _ win all the games.”

“Hey,” Louis’ protest is weak at best, as tears spill steadily down his cheeks. 

“Marry me, Lou?” 

“You tosser. I can’t believe you were awake.”

“Is that a yes or—“

“Yes!” Louis gently lifts Cliff off of Harry’s lap and crawls into the now vacant space himself, grabbing Harry’s face in between his hands. “Yes, you’re completely ridiculous and your cow jokes are terrible, but yes, of course yes.”

“My cow jokes are funny.”

“No.”

“What did the farmer name his funniest cow?”

“Oh god, what?”

“His laughing stock.”

“Oh god, I hate you. I’m marrying an idiot.” Louis’ body was shaking as he laughed at Harry anyway. 

“But it’s still a yes, though. Right?”

“Yes! Yea! Let’s get married!”

Louis pushes himself further into Harry’s arms and seals their lips together. They kiss like it’s the first time all over again, slowly at first until it evolves into something deeper and long enough to leave them both chapped and breathless. 

Little nips at their toes is what forces them to pull apart, both giggling at their new puppy whose tail is wagging happily as if he wants in on their happy news. They gather Cliff back into their arms and spoil him with belly rubs and puppy kisses so that he doesn’t feel left out of their celebration. And it all feels so perfectly domestic and perfectly perfect that Harry could cry with joy from how much he’s feeling. 

They remain wrapped up in one another for the rest of the day, choosing to keep their news private for now. Just for today. Tomorrow they’ll tell their families and friends, but today is all for the two of them. Three, actually, because Cliff counts. 

“I’m funny, Lou. Right?” Harry asks Louis when they’re close to falling asleep that night. 

“Of course you are, darling. The funniest.” Louis is full of shit and Harry knows this, but he smiles anyway as he drifts off to sleep. He might not be a comedian, but he knows that he’s going to spend the rest of his life making his husband laugh. Or at the very least, making him happy. 

And that’s good enough. 

_ ~fin _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


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**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Lauren for organizing this fest and for asking me to be be a part of it and thank you to my beta, Nic who is the most wonderful!! ILY both <3  
Thank you for reading, I hope that you enjoyed it :)


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